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Tatsuya Ichihashi

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Hawker family

The family of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker wept today as the man who raped and murdered her was sentenced to life in jail.

Tatsuya Ichihashi, 32, beat and strangled the 22-year-old and buried her body in a sand-filled bath.

At Chiba District Court, English language student Ichihashi was handed an indeterminate sentence. It means he may die in prison.

Ms Hawker's parents Bill and Julia had flown to Japan to attend the 17-day trial. They had asked judges to impose the death penalty after sitting through details of her ordeal.

Mrs Hawker, comforted by her two other daughters Louise and Lisa, wiped tears from her face and nodded several times as she listened to the verdict. The family was too upset to speak outside court.

Ms Hawker, originally from Coventry left for Japan after graduating from Leeds University and taught English at a private school in Chiba.She was last seen alive on 25 March 2007, when she gave Ichihashi an English lesson in a café.

The self-confessed loner then persuaded her to take a taxi to his flat near Tokyo, where he had money to pay her.

Her body was found later in the bath, bound and gagged with plastic ties and scarves. Japanese police were criticised for failing to catch Ichihashi: he walked past detectives with a rucksack and in bare feet as they prepared to search his home.

During his trial he admitted killing Ms Hawker but denied murder. He tried to use a loophole in Japanese law to escape the charge, by showing contrition towards the family.

They watched as the former botany student dropped to the courtroom floor, bowing repeatedly, weeping and clasping his palms. He said: "I scared her and caused her death. I'm deeply sorry." Ichihashi trembled as he admitted he took Ms Hawker back to his flat because "I selfishly thought I wanted to become intimate with her". He admitted tying her up and "succumbed to my temptations".

After the assault, which he described in great detail, he lay Ms Hawker on a mattress where she said: "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" and pleaded with him to let her go. But he said he could not as her injuries were too severe. As she tried to flee, he caught and strangled her.

In court, driving school owner Mr Hawker was asked how his daughter's death had affected his family. He said: "Our close family don't know how to approach us. We don't go out because people don't know what to say to us. I take drugs to counter depression. I feel constantly angry. They say time heals, but it doesn't."

Despite a reward of £80,000, Ichihashi evaded capture until his arrest in Osaka in 2009. In custody, he wrote a book as "a gesture of contrition". It detailed how he had plastic surgery and tried procedures on himself with scissors. He claimed to have visited temples, wishing Ms Hawker could "come back to life".